Shadaloo
Shadaloo (also referred to as Shadowlaw) is a globe-spanning crime syndicate from the Street Fighter video game franchise. It was founded and led by the ruthless dictator M. Bison, a megalomaniac who sought power and domination over the entire world. Shadaloo has been involved with all manner of illegal activities around the globe, ranging from developing and selling drugs and weapons, human experimentation, acts of terrorism and political assassinations. History It is unknown when Shadaloo was founded, but it is believed that it was established by M. Bison in Thailand. It quickly dominated the global underworld, assuming control over many lesser criminal organizations and becoming involved in just about every existing criminal racket. With near limitless funding and resources, Shadaloo built up a sizable army and invested in advanced technology. Street Fighter Alpha ''series At this point, Shadaloo's military power was capable of rivalling that of a medium-sized nation. Its forces included numerous mercenaries and terrorists, as well as fighters from around the world who had been brainwashed into Bison's service. Shadaloo's military hardware included cyborg soldiers, robots, satellite surveillance systems and VTOL attack aircraft. Most notable among Shadaloo's technological achievements was the Psycho Drive, a device that could absorb and channel the negative psychic energy that Bison wielded known as "Psycho Power". It was originally created as a means of creating a perfect host body for Bison's spirit, but was repurposed as a weapon of mass destruction, capable of directing massive amounts of Psycho Power as a laser-like beam that could be directed via satellite to strike anywhere on Earth. Having learned of the Ansatsuken fighter known as Ryu, Bison decided that he would make an ideal host body and manipulated events to lure the wandering warrior into his clutches, kidnapping and brainwashing his friend Ken Masters. After forcing the two friends to fight, Bison challenged Ryu himself. However, Ryu and Ken defeated Bison together and the madman's body was destroyed. At the same time, a joint U.S. Air Force-Interpol task force attacked Shadaloo's bases in Thailand and Brazil, destroying them both and the Psycho Drive. ''Super Street Fighter II Though Shadaloo had suffered a setback, it remained a powerful and influential force in the underworld. The seemingly immortal Bison had returned in a new body and sought to replenish Shadaloo's losses by forcibly recruiting the finest martial artists in the world as his new soldiers. To this end, he hosts the Second World Warrior Tournament at Shadaloo's headquarters on the small island nation of Mriganka, intent on capturing the winning competitors and brainwashing them into his service. Bison also knew that Ryu would surely enter the tournament, seeing another opportunity to capture him and acquire his body. Interpol had learned of the tournament and had sent their agent Chun-Li to investigate and attempt to defeat Bison. Accompanying her were Guile of the U.S. Air Force and Cammy White from Britain's Delta Red unit. These three succeeded in sabotaging Shadaloo's stronghold while Bison was busy overseeing the tournament. Bison would challenge Ryu after the Japanese fighter had made it to the final tier of the contest, but their battle was interrupted by the untimely arrival of Akuma, Ryu's nemesis. Akuma unleashed his ultimate attack, the Shun Goku Satsu, upon Bison, killing him instantly before challenging Ryu. With its leader gone and its headquarters destroyed, Shadaloo had been dealt a crippling blow. Balrog, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, took advantage of Bison's absence following the tournament and assumed leadership of Shadaloo himself. Street Fighter IV Since taking over the organization, Balrog had run Shadaloo into the ground. Proving to be totally inept at managing a vast criminal empire, the ex-boxer found himself returning to Las Vegas where he resumed work as a bouncer for various hotels and casinos, only to waste most of his money on drink and gambling. Meanwhile, Shadaloo had torn itself apart without any leadership; its primary research division S.I.N. had splintered from the organization, taking most of its parent group's personnel and resources. Under the leadership of Seth, S.I.N. organized a Third World Warrior Tournament in order to gather the world's finest martial artists together as test subjects for their research. Seth intended to analyze the data of each of the fighters and assimilate their abilities to make himself more powerful. However, a group of scientists within S.I.N. remained loyal to Bison and had secretly engineered a new clone body for him. Once restored, Bison sent agents to find his former lieutenants Balrog and Vega and bring them back into the fold. Seth would be defeated in the tournament by Ryu and his BLECE project destroyed, though Bison and his underlings were on hand to pick up the pieces of S.I.N. and reincorporate them into Shadaloo once again. Street Fighter V Having returned to the height of its power, Shadaloo initiates its ultimate plan to conquer the world. Using a series of enormous moon-shaped satellites, Shadaloo intends to plunge the world into chaos by triggering the Black Moons over the Earth's major cities. The Black Moons are designed to emit massive electromagnetic pulses to disable all electrical machinery caught within their blast radius, causing widespread panic and anarchy as a result. The Moons then draw upon the negative spiritual energy given off by the terrified populous, transmitting it back to Shadaloo's headquarters where it is absorbed by Bison himself, magnifying his Psycho Power. The programmer of the Black Moons, who is being forced to help Shadaloo against her will, secretly dispatches a number of devices to various individuals around the world. These devices resemble chess pieces and are capable of shutting down the Black Moons. Ryu, Ken Masters and the recipients of the pieces - Rashid, Alex, Karin Kanzuki, Guile, Chun-Li, Laura Matsuda and Zangief - are brought together and launch an assault on Shadaloo's base. In the end, the attack is successful and the Black Moons are destroyed, though Bison's Psycho Power has been boosted significantly. With his plan coming apart and his forces in disarray, Bison confronts Ryu one more time. Drawing upon the Power of Nothingness, Ryu blocks Bison's attempts at possessing him and fires of a Hadoken. Bison appears unfazed by the attack at first, but then the dictator notices a pure, blue light emanating from within him as he watches his body crack and crumble. However, Bison merely erupts into maniacal laughter as his body is consumed and destroyed. With Bison gone, Ryu and the other World Warriors evacuate from the crumbling Shadaloo base. Following this event, Shadaloo is believed to be destroyed once and for all. Members Below is a list of all known Shadaloo personnel. M. Bison The founder and leader of Shadaloo. Much of his past remains unknown, though even in his early life he had an insatiable hunger for power. He mastered the negative ki energy known as Psycho Power by forcefully expelling all positive ki from his soul, becoming a being of absolute evil. However, this has resulted in Bison requiring spare bodies for his spirit to occupy as his Psycho Power eventually causes his current body to break down. Therefore, Shadaloo has invested great resources to create new artificial bodies superior to any human for Bison to possess. As long as he has a body to inhabit, Bison is more-or-less immortal. Bison has led Shadaloo towards a singular goal: absolute world domination. He has shown a willingness to do whatever it takes to achieve his goals, no matter how much death and destruction he causes. He has no patience for those who are not of use to him and those he cannot control deserve nothing but death. Sagat Sagat was a national treasure of Thailand, hailed as the "Emperor of Muay Thai" during the height of his martial arts career. After being defeated by Ryu in the First World Warrior Tournament, the prideful Sagat desired revenge against the man who had scarred him. He was approached by M. Bison who invited him into the ranks of Shadaloo on the promise that he would have his rematch against Ryu. Sagat became one of Shadaloo's Four Heavenly Kings, holding great authority over the rest of the organization except for Bison. During the Second World Warrior Tournament, he fought against Ryu once again only to be defeated yet again. Humbled by his second defeat, Sagat contemplated on what true strength really meant. Disapproving of Shadaloo's methods, he left the organization and returned to Thailand to embark on a journey of self-discovery. F.A.N.G. F.A.N.G. was a Chinese assassin and leader of the Nguuhao criminal cartel before joining Shadaloo. He and the other members of his syndicate specialized in the use of weaponized poisons and kidnapped children off the streets to train them in the art of the Poison Hand also. After assuming leadership of the Nguuhao, F.A.N.G. organized the assassination of M. Bison in order to prevent Shadaloo from overtaking their rackets. The assassination attempt failed and all of the Nguuhao members apart from F.A.N.G. were killed. In awe of Bison's might, F.A.N.G. bowed to him and offered his services to the dictator. Bison declared that he was not interested in servitude but strength and power, telling F.A.N.G. to prove his usefulness. Thus, F.A.N.G. joined the ranks of Shadaloo and quickly rose to prominence, soon becoming Bison's second-in-command and taking Sagat's former position among the Four Heavenly Kings. Vega A former bull fighter from Spain, Vega is a bloodthirsty psychopath who uses a clawed gauntlet in battle. He is a textbook narcissist, believing that beauty is all that matters in life. Vega himself is remarkably attractive and tends to flaunt his physical beauty around others he considers ugly. In combat, he wears a steel mask to shield his precious face. Vega was originally hired by Bison to serve as his personal assassin, sending him to eliminate individuals that posed a threat to Shadaloo's operations. Vega isn't truly invested in Shadaloo's mission of global conquest, but enjoys the opportunity of killing Bison's enemies in brutal, sadistic fashion. Balrog A former heavyweight boxing champion, Balrog had developed a bad reputation for being excessively violent. He was permanently banned from the sport after killing an opponent in the ring and reduced to working as a bouncer for casinos and clubs across Las Vegas before being approached by Shadaloo. Balrog served as one of Bison's top henchmen, coming to take up a position as one of the Four Heavenly Kings. A true mercenary, he didn't care about Bison's goals and only joined Shadaloo to get rich. After Bison's supposed death in the Second World Warrior Tournament, Balrog assumed leadership of Shadaloo. He proved to be completely incompetent as a leader and ran Shadaloo into the ground before returning to Vegas. He rejoined the organization later on to take down S.I.N., having squandered all his money on booze and gambling. After the Black Moon incident, Balrog's whereabouts are unknown. Birdie A former British wrestler, Birdie turned to a life of crime after his wrestling career came to an end. While only a street-level thug, he had ambition, and after hearing about Shadaloo decided to join them. He tracked down a Shadaloo cell in London, battling against the soldiers in order to gain Bison's attention. Bison recruited Birdie, but only as a test subject for Shadaloo's genetic experiments. Birdie was submitted to a series of degrading tests and reconsidered whether joining Shadaloo was worth it. Birdie spent quite some time in Shadaloo, eventually earning his uniform as a common soldier. However, nothing he did earned him him any respect or recognition in the organization and he left shortly after F.A.N.G. became Bison's second-in-command. Since leaving Shadaloo, Birdie has become obese, though he still maintains his fighting skills and has since become a bodyguard for Karin Kanzuki. Cammy White Known by the codename "Killer Bee", Cammy was originally an assassin that had been genetically engineered by Shadaloo using Bison's DNA. She was one of a series of "Dolls" created to eliminate Shadaloo's enemies, but after failing to assassinate the yoga master Dhalsim, she was freed from Bison's mind-control and granted self-awareness. After gaining free will, Cammy turned against Bison and attacked him, only to be defeated. Bison left Vega to dispose of her, but Vega considered the Doll too beautiful to kill and decided to give her a chance at making her own life, depositing her on the doorstep of a British embassy. Since then, Cammy has joined the elite MI6 division Delta Red and has taken part in operations against Shadaloo whilst also discovering the truth behind her forgotten past. Other personnel * Soldiers - Basic Shadaloo troopers typically wear uniforms similar to that of Bison, featuring the same shoulder pads and cuffs. They are equipped with assault weaponry and trained in hand-to-hand combat. * Elites - Robed Shadaloo agents wearing skull-shaped masks. These agents are Bison's acolytes and have been trained to wield Psycho Power to a limited degree. * Dolls - An all-female group of assassins consisting of brainwashed fighters from around the world. Category:Criminal Organizations Category:Terrorists Category:Military Category:Street Fighter